Album Review: Pete Laffin – “The Still Point of the Turning World”
Poets and musicians both rely upon sound to convey meaning, sensation, wit, emotion, or whatever it is they’re “trying to say.” Yet one key element in the art of poetry that is often lacking in today’s music is space. Emptiness. That thing between and around sound. Many current artists try to cram as many layers of sound as they can into a recording, all smoothed out, arranged, and harmonized by some master producer. Of course, sometimes this can result in unique work. More often than not, however, the resulting product seems nauseatingly inhuman. It furthers the sense of separation between artist and audience that major record companies and MTV love to perpetuate, placing the artist upon a plastic pedestal. It does to music what airbrushing does to Playboy models.
By contrast, Pete Laffin’s debut album, “The Still Point of the Turning World,” captures a perfect blend of sound and space, of rawness and harmony; it is, quite simply, a profoundly human work. His songs, mostly all acoustic, seem delicate, stripped almost to the bone. Laffin’s beautiful, crooning vocals at times belie his more humorous lyrics–which makes them even funnier: “I just smoked a joint with Jesus, / and he’s one fucking awesome guy. / He said sometimes his dad’s a dick, / but so is yours when you cross the line.” Laffin’s unique sense of wit is as striking in his sentimental moments as it is in his humorous ones. “When I Was Gone” is a real tear-jerker, great songwriting made all the more striking by the deft guitar work and back up vocals of Gabrielle Grilli.
This album signals an auspicious start to Laffin’s musical career. With the formation of The Pete Laffin Band, we can expect to be hearing more great music in the days to come. Check them out on MySpace: